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UAE tops MEA region in inclusive growth: report

Xinhua, June 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranked first in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) in relation to inclusive growth, credit card provider MasterCard said in a study released here on Wednesday.

Titled "Inclusive Growth in the Middle East and Africa", the MasterCard study said the UAE is ranked first in the region in 2014 with an overall score of 57.58, which is only 6.8 points behind the benchmark set by the 10 developed countries.

"UAE is followed by Qatar in second place, Bahrain in third, Saudi Arabia in fourth, Oman in fifth, and Tunisia in sixth," added the study. Inclusive growth describes economic growth which reaches and benefits most or all social levels in a society and not just the upper echelon.

MasterCard added that inclusive growth is especially critical for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) because of the region's demographic dynamics, social structures, current economic conditions, and the ongoing political instability, which are all interlinked.

"Within this region, the situation is particularly acute for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)." The top 10 countries are all in MENA with the exception of Botswana.

The leading states in relation to inclusive growth improved their ICT infrastructure to the point where some countries (like the UAE) have over 100 percent mobile penetration.

Others like Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon, and Egypt demonstrate "great potential", but are yet to translate that potential to tangible and sustainable development outcomes, the MasterCard study said.

The UAE, a major oil supplier, has a total population of 9.5 million inhabitants of which over 80 percent are foreign expatriates. "Looking forward, the UAE has the most promising story given its top-ranked position in inclusive growth in the MEA region," said the analysis. Endit